Revolutionary credentials secured Adams two terms as vice president of George Washington and secured his own election in 1796 as the second president. One of his greatest roles was as a judge of character: he in 1775 nominated George Washington to commander-in-chief and 25 years later nominated John Marshall to Chief Justice of the United States. Later, as a diplomat in Europe, he helped to negotiate the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain and responsibly obtained vital governmental loans from bankers of Amsterdam.Ī political theorist and historian, Adams largely wrote the constitution of Massachusetts in 1780, which together with his earlier Thoughts on Government, influenced American political thought. He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and was its primary advocate in the Congress. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, Adams played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence. A cousin of revolutionary leader Samuel Adams, John Adams was a lawyer and public figure in Boston. John Adams, the first vice president from 1789 to 1797 and the second president from 1797 to 1801 of the United States, figured during the American Revolution, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and the shaping of the Constitution.Ī Founding Father, Adams came to prominence in the early stages. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introdutions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Covering key moments in American history - the Continental Congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and John Adams's diplomatic missions to Europe - the letters reveal the concerns of a couple living during a period of explosive change, from smallpox and British warships to raising children, paying taxes, the state of women, and the emerging concepts of American democracy.įor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. The Letters of John and Abigail Adams provides an insightful record of American life before, during, and after the Revolution the letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between John and Abigail that lasted fifty-four years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. The correspondence of a Founding Father and his brilliant wife

The letters of abigail adams